DALLAS — Dallas police and the Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission are asking for the public's help to find the latest suspect who dumped a dog along a notorious stretch of road in southern Dallas.
In surveillance footage near Dowdy Ferry Road and Teagarden Road, a man drives up and parks around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. He is driving an older model white Chevrolet SUV. He opens the tailgate and a playful, young German Shepherd mix jumps out.
Someone shouts at them from across the road. The dog reacts, but the man ignores them and gets back into his SUV, the dog following behind him. But the suspect drives away, with the dog giving chase south on Teagarden, narrowly escaping getting hit by other passing cars.
"That was an intentional dump and he did not want to be caught. And he did not want that dog and he made that clear," said Jeremy Boss of the Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission, whose cameras captured the incident. The nonprofit has been active in this well-known animal and trash dumping area for more than a decade hoping its hidden cameras will help deter crimes like this one.
"It makes me sick to my stomach when I see people that will take the time to take their dog, drive out here, and throw it out like trash like Dowdy Ferry is known for," Boss said.
Fortunately, neighbors who witnessed the man dumping the dog and driving away were able to capture the dog and care for it until Dallas Animal Services arrived late Wednesday night. The dog, which appears to be a young German Shepherd, reportedly had a minor leg injury but is otherwise OK.
Dallas Police confirmed they are searching for the suspect. The crime is considered a Class A misdemeanor.
"A crime like this is one of those that's so random that we need the public's help when they see something like, in this case, something suspicious, or they see an act like this taking place," said Dallas Police Department spokesperson Brian Martinez.
"People that dump dogs, they have no conscience," added Boss. "Either that or they have no brain. I don't understand the logic in doing it."
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for any information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the man caught dumping the dog.
“Our dogs rely on us to protect them, but instead, this man dumped this dog on the side of the road, leaving him to chase after the car—and likely the only family he’s ever known,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien, in a press release. “This is an egregious betrayal of a dog’s trust, and PETA urges anyone who recognizes this dog or the man who abandoned him to come forward immediately.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dallas Police Department's Animal Cruelty team at 469-504-3394.
Boss's cameras captured a similar event in November, one that remains unsolved. The same cameras captured a man in a dark sedan also leaving a German Shepherd behind. Unfortunately, Boss said, that dog was hit and killed by a passing car that same day. He says members of his team, responding to the incident, witnessed the death.
Dallas police and the Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission operate multiple cameras in the area of Dowdy Ferry and Teagarden. Those cameras, in perhaps their most infamous recent case, captured the actions of a man named Sebastian Acosta two years ago.
Acosta was recorded taking two puppies out of the back of his truck along Dowdy Ferry Road. Off camera, the dogs yelp. Surveillance video shows Acosta getting back into his truck and driving away. The video helped get a six-year prison sentence that included convictions for animal cruelty. The dogs had been clubbed to death.
"That's one of thousands of stories that were lucky to be told," said Boss. "There are so many stories out there that aren't told and these cameras help tell these stories of where these dogs come from."
Police are asking anyone who can help identify the suspects in the latest animal dumping cases at Dowdy Ferry and Teagarden Road to call the Dallas Police Animal Cruelty Division at 469-504-3394.